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New magazine focuses on 'jihad and resistance work in Egypt'

By David BarnettMarch 29, 2014 10:30 AM

The first issue of a new magazine, entitled "Harvest of the Jihad," was posted to the top-tier jihadi forum Shumukh al Islam on March 27. The magazine, translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, claims to be an "independent, weekly magazine" that provides coverage of "jihad and resistance work in Egypt."

It will be released regularly on Thursdays and will include various statements and events from the past week. "Preparation is ongoing for other sections in the magazine," the magazine said.

The first statement included in this week's issue was Ansar Jerusalem's (Ansar Bayt al Maqdis) statement confirming the deaths of six fighters during clashes with Egyptian security forces on March 19.

This was followed by two statements from a Facebook group called the Execution Movement. According to one recent analysis, Muslim Brotherhood supporters, in particular youth, have been using social media platforms to promote low-level violence against Egypt's current regime.

In the first statement, originally posted on March 23, the Execution Movement said its members had kidnapped a member of Egypt's security forces. The group further said that Egyptian authorities had 24 hours to release Ibrahim Azab, who was recently sentenced to death, according to press reports.

In the second statement included in the magazine, the Execution Movement Facebook page claimed that its members had "captured, beat, and dragged a thug after he assaulted the marches against the military coup with security protection in Giza province." The page continued: "This will be the fate of any officer or thug who tries to suppress the strikes or the marches with force in any area."

The magazine also included a communiqué from the 7am movement, which often protests in support of the Muslim Brotherhood and former president Mohammed Morsi. In the statement, the group, whose members have been sentenced previously by Egyptian authorities, claimed to have information that Egyptian authorities planned to arrest 22 Islamist women who had previously been sentenced to one-year probation.

Following this message, the magazine mentioned a few anti-government protesters who had been killed or wounded during recent demonstrations. For example, the magazine noted the death of Mustafa Kamel, who was killed on March 21 during clashes between Muslim Brotherhood supporters and security forces in Alexandria. This was followed with mentions of various new stories, including low-level violence by Muslim Brotherhood supporters against Egyptian security personnel, and recent comments by Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II on the Arab Spring.